52 | Pilot September 2017 http://www.pilotweb.aero
A different take on the ‘half mil’
Air Million Zoom Southern England & Wales 1:500,000 chart
£15.99 http://www.transair.co.uk
Double-sided and showing Class A to E Airspace from 500ft to FL105, this new chart covers Southern
England and Wales, together with parts of northern France. The ‘Zoom’ series retains the
characteristics of the popular Air Million 1:1,000,000 charts, presenting the information in much less
cluttered fashion than the familar CAA ‘half mil’ (see Transair’s website for a side-by side comparison).
The general graphic design is certainly very different too — see the Zoom chart detail reproduced
below. Does it work? We have our reservations about the legibility of some of the green print but
others may find the clarity of these new charts more than makes up for such minor niggles — it
comes down to personal preference. And at the price, it’s not costly to try one for yourself! PWBooks & Gear
One 8.33 radio that won’t break the bank!
Yaesu FTA-750L airband transceiver http://www.yaesu.co.uk £379.96 inc VAT
Those of us who chug, and these days even whiz around the sky in LAA Permit aircraft have long
enjoyed using handhelds as the most basic, low-cost comms option. Even so, when it comes to
replacing old units with 8.33 ones as we must, one is on the lookout for good value for money. Yaesu’s
units certainly represent very good value for money. The price of the FTA-750L unit illustrated may not
appear that low, but it is actually a lot more than a simple transceiver with 8.33 kHz spacing, offering a
host of other features including ILS (localiser and glide slope), VOR navigation, and GPS position
information from a built-in receiver. If you take it to America you will also be able to monitor the US
NOAA weather band. Even if you are confined to this side of the Pond and are concentrating on using
comms to full advantage, you can programme up to 200 memory channels with a ‘quick and easy’
channel recall feature. The unit can easily be reprogrammed ‘in minutes’ using the optional PC
Programming software and the supplied USB programming cable — something we have not yet
experimented with, we must admit. There are an awful lot of features packed into this one,
remarkably compact unit — and it comes with a full set of accessories. PW
8.33 radio Air Million Zoom chart Headsets M.52 book Lysander polo shirt